THE GARDENS OF PAPAL ROME 
spot was turned into an earthly paradise.” So well 
pleased was the Cardinal with his work that he re¬ 
warded the artist with a canonry of St. Peter’s. 
Although Raphael’s design was never entirely com¬ 
pleted, all his contemporaries speak with enthusiasm of 
the wonderful beauty and enchantment of the villa on 
Monte Mario—“ luogo stupendo e delizioso His friend, 
the poet Tebaldeo, sang its praises in verse, and Giulio 
Romano introduced a view of the house and pillared 
hemicycle in the background of his fresco of “ The 
Battle of Constantine at Ponte Mode.” But, from the 
first, ill-luck attended Villa Madama. While it was 
still unfinished Raphael himself died, leaving his scholars 
orphaned and all Rome in tears. Before the end of 
the next year Leo the Tenth followed him to the grave 
and was succeeded by Adrian the Sixth. The works of 
the Vatican were stopped, Cardinal de’ Medici retired 
to Florence, and artists and poets fled from a court 
“ where genius,” as Vasari said, “was no longer esteemed, 
and painters were left to die of hunger.” Twice only 
during Adrian’s brief reign do we find any mention of 
Raphael’s villa. In the spring of 1523 the Florentine 
ambassadors, who came to Rome to congratulate the 
new Pope, spent two nights at the Vigna de’ Medici, 
“ a most beautiful palace,” writes Pesaro, “ outside the 
city gates,” in order to allow the Venetian envoys to 
enter Rome first. The other occasion was a few weeks 
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